1873 Closed out with a bang. St Louis appeared in their third championship and were defeated by the Chicago White Stockings. My team, the Reds, bowed out and finished 5 games back of Chicago. If Uncle Al did not get injured, the Reds might have had a better chance. Both Chicago and Cincinnati were 18-7 after the All Star break.

Top 10 Prospects for 1873
Jim Holdsworth #1
Bill Boyd #3
Jim Devlin #6
George Fields #10.

Yes, those are the Royals and the Pirates lurking around .500. Sometimes I wonder if fans of those two teams would celebrate even a moderately successful season the way other fan bases might celebrate a playoff berth.

One of the best things about sports is the surge of hope one feels for one's team, especially when they are succeeding beyond expectation. The fan can allow himself to dream, to believe, even if only for a moment, that his team might just possibly see the whole thing...

I finished first in the National League with a 28-22 record. My team took the first game of the Championship Series, but St Louis came roaring back and smoked the Reds. My score was 88 out of 100. And named Manager of the Year.

I had fun with this. The process of trying to be too creative can be a little overwhelming, so I'm forcing myself not to spend too much time on thread updates, trying not to overthink what I'm doing. Otherwise, it starts to feel like too much work.

I loathe sports cliches, but if I'm going to make up quotes from managers, I'm going to use them if I can. The funny thing is that even as I'm writing them, I almost have to recoil.

Oh, and don't think I haven't noticed the...